Salt-restriction spoon symbolizing heart health

Salt Smart: How to Reduce Sodium Intake for a Healthier Heart

Avery Sinclair in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 4 min read.

"Simple strategies and tools, like the two-gram spoon, can significantly lower your salt consumption and improve your cardiovascular health."

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects millions worldwide and is a major risk factor for serious conditions like stroke, renal disease, and heart failure. While many factors contribute to hypertension, including age, obesity, and lifestyle, a high salt intake is a significant culprit. Reducing your salt consumption can significantly lower blood pressure and enhance the effectiveness of other treatments.

Recognizing the importance of salt reduction, the World Health Organization (WHO) and various countries have emphasized it in their prevention and treatment guidelines. In China, a common initiative involves distributing two-gram salt-restriction spoons to help people measure and control their salt intake during home cooking. However, the adoption rate of these spoons remains low, highlighting the need to understand the factors influencing their use.

This article explores the determinants of salt-restriction-spoon usage in China, drawing upon the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify key factors that influence people's behavior. By understanding these factors, we can develop more effective strategies to promote salt reduction and improve public health.

Why Should You Care About Salt?

Salt-restriction spoon symbolizing heart health

The average daily salt consumption in China is about 12 grams, far exceeding the recommended amount of 6 grams. Most of this sodium comes from salt added during home cooking, making it crucial to target this area for reduction. Tools like the two-gram salt-restriction spoon are designed to help individuals measure salt intake accurately, ensuring they stay within the recommended limits. For example, a family of three should consume no more than 18 grams of salt per day, and these spoons help in portioning the salt accordingly during meal preparation.

Enhancing the correct usage of salt-restriction spoons can lead to significant health benefits, including lower salt intake and reduced blood pressure. However, many people who have received these spoons do not use them or cannot use them correctly. Understanding the reasons behind this is essential for designing effective intervention strategies.

Convenience and Ease of Use: Are the spoons easy to handle and use in daily cooking?
Knowledge and Awareness: Do people understand the correct way to use the spoons and the health benefits of salt reduction?
Perceived Benefits: Do individuals believe that reducing salt intake will genuinely improve their health?
Barriers and Challenges: What obstacles prevent people from using the spoons, such as taste preferences or lack of awareness?

To address these questions, a study was conducted in Beijing, China, involving both urban and rural residents. The study aimed to identify the key determinants influencing the use of salt-restriction spoons by applying the Health Belief Model (HBM).

Practical Steps for a Healthier Lifestyle

Reducing salt intake and promoting the use of salt-restriction spoons require a multi-faceted approach, including improving the design of the spoons, enhancing public education, and targeting specific populations. By addressing these factors, we can significantly improve public health and reduce the burden of hypertension and related diseases. Let's work together to make informed choices and adopt healthier habits for a better future.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083262, Alternate LINK

Title: Determinants Of Salt-Restriction-Spoon Using Behavior In China: Application Of The Health Belief Model

Subject: Multidisciplinary

Journal: PLoS ONE

Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Authors: Juan Chen, Yixing Liao, Zhuoting Li, Ye Tian, Shuaishuai Yang, Chao He, Dahong Tu, Xinying Sun

Published: 2013-12-20

Everything You Need To Know

What is hypertension and why is it a concern?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a significant health concern affecting millions worldwide. It's a major risk factor for severe conditions like stroke, heart failure, and renal disease. High salt intake is a major contributor to the development of hypertension. Reducing salt consumption can lower blood pressure and improve the effectiveness of other treatments.

What is the two-gram salt-restriction spoon and what is its purpose?

The two-gram salt-restriction spoon is a tool designed to help individuals accurately measure and control their salt intake, aligning with recommended daily limits. Using the two-gram salt-restriction spoon enables accurate portioning during cooking, which can help a family stay within the recommended daily salt intake. For instance, a family of three should limit themselves to no more than 18 grams of salt per day.

Why is salt reduction important?

The average daily salt consumption in China is about 12 grams, which is double the recommended 6 grams. Most of this excess sodium comes from salt added during home cooking, making this a critical area to target for reduction. Reducing salt intake, particularly through measures like using the two-gram salt-restriction spoon, can lead to significant health benefits, including lower blood pressure.

What is the Health Belief Model and what role does it play in this context?

The Health Belief Model (HBM) is used to understand why people use salt-restriction spoons. The HBM helps to identify key factors influencing behavior, such as the perceived benefits of reducing salt intake, any barriers that prevent spoon usage, people's understanding of how to use the spoons, and their convenience. By understanding these factors, more effective strategies can be developed to promote salt reduction and improve public health.

What are some practical steps to improve public health related to salt intake?

Practical steps for a healthier lifestyle include improving the design of the salt-restriction spoons, enhancing public education, and targeting specific populations. This comprehensive approach, including the use of the two-gram salt-restriction spoon, can significantly improve public health by reducing the burden of hypertension and related diseases. Enhancing the correct usage of salt-restriction spoons can lead to significant health benefits, including lower salt intake and reduced blood pressure.